Justin Vellucci stories, Page 31
Allegheny County Police seeking public’s help to find Munhall shooter
The Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office identified the man shot Friday morning in Munhall as Isaac Love. Love, 31, of Homestead, was pronounced dead at 9:29 a.m., the medical examiner said. Allegheny County Police said they responded to the 1800 block of McClure Street just before 8:30 a.m. after receiving...
Pittsburgh journalist sues Allegheny County over jail ‘gag order’ policies
A Pittsburgh journalist sued Allegheny County in federal court Thursday, claiming a county jail “gag order” violates jail staff’s First Amendment free-speech rights, as well as the press-freedom rights of journalists covering jail issues. The “gag order,” which actually is a combination of multiple county Bureau of Corrections policies, dictates...
Shaler police identify man found dead in Allegheny River
Shaler police said the man they found dead Thursday morning in the Allegheny River was a missing township resident suffering from dementia. Mark Massimiani, 60, was found in the river near the 31st Street Bridge by a rowing group, Shaler police Chief J. Sean Frank said. Massimiani, who was last...
Police identify 2 drivers killed in head-on crash in Butler County
State police have released the names of two drivers killed in a Butler County head-on crash Wednesday morning. Hayden Ernest, 19, was driving northbound on Oneida Valley Road in Oakland Township around 6:15 a.m. when he crossed into oncoming traffic and crashed head-on into a car driven by Jacqueline Rock,...
W.Va. man killed in Oakland hit-and-run ‘found the beauty in things,’ family recalls
James Jerry “J.J.” Vas-Patterson wasn’t born into an easy life. After his father died unexpectedly on Sept. 7, 2010, when Vas-Patterson was just 10 years old, he and his younger brothers entered foster care, family members said Wednesday. Later, he added Patterson to his last name after being adopted by...
4 injured in Butler County crash
Four people were hospitalized in Butler County early Wednesday when state police said a woman drove her SUV into oncoming traffic and overturned the vehicle, causing a second driver to swerve into an embankment to avoid her. Sara Brown, 20, of Butler, was driving southbound on Oneida Valley Road near...
Safety tips on natural gas usage and home inspections
Keeping a home fueled by natural gas safe is pretty simple, said Dennis Caveglia, who has operated Valley Plumbing & Heating in his native Leechburg for 40 years. Caveglia, like many working with natural gas, wouldn’t hypothesize about what caused the Plum house explosion Saturday morning that killed six people...
Hit-and-run victim found in middle of Oakland road identified
James Jerry Vas-Patterson, 23, was the fatal hit-and-run victim found dead Sunday night in Oakland, the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office announced Tuesday. Vas-Patterson, whose home address is unknown, was found by Pittsburgh police officers just before 10 p.m. in the middle of the road in the 2300 block of...
Man charged in connection with rape in McKeesport apartment complex
A Wilkinsburg man accused of raping a woman in the hallway of a McKeesport apartment complex is headed to Common Pleas court. McKeesport police charged Ian Eric Payne, 34, with rape, sexual assault, aggravated indecent assault without consent, and indecent assault/forcible compulsion in July, court records show. Those charges were...
Pittsburgh man accused of robbing North Side bank
A Pittsburgh man was arrested Monday for robbing a bank on the city’s North Side, which authorities said was the second area bank he robbed in just two weeks. Dwayne Russell Harvey, 55, entered the Citizens Bank at 106 Isabella St. — near the Andy Warhol Museum on the North...
Pitcairn man attacks neighbor with hammer, police say
A Pitcairn man is behind bars after beating a neighbor with a hammer late Thursday, authorities said. William Alan Jackson, 42, was charged Friday with attempted homicide, aggravated assault, recklessly endangering another person and making terroristic threats, court records show. Police said they took Jackson, after a mental health evaluation,...
North Side father, son sentenced in shooting that injured 2
A Pittsburgh tow-truck driver is going to prison, and his son is getting probation after 18 months in Allegheny County Jail, for their roles in a February 2022 shooting that injured two people. Common Pleas Judge Bruce R. Beemer on Thursday sentenced Kurt Ianuzzo, 53, of Pittsburgh’s North Side, to...
Bridgeville man surrenders in Fort Pitt Bridge ‘street takeover’ stunt
A Bridgeville man surrendered to Allegheny County sheriff’s deputies at a Downtown courthouse around 8 a.m. Friday, weeks after police charged him for his role in a July “street takeover” stunt on the Fort Pitt Bridge. Jason Stotlemyer, 31, was the first person charged in connection with the July 21...
2nd man charged in connection with February fatal shooting in Pittsburgh’s North Side
Pittsburgh police have arrested a second man in connection with a fatal shooting in February in the city’s North Side. Homicide detectives obtained an arrest warrant Tuesday for Demetrius Caligiuri, whose age and hometown were unavailable, in the killing of Rasul Aquil, police spokeswoman Cara Cruz said. U.S. Marshals joined...
Feds arrest white supremacist over Pittsburgh synagogue shooting trial threats
A self-proclaimed “reverend” in the white supremacist movement is behind bars and charged with threatening Jews and targeting witnesses and jurors during the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting trial. Hardy Carroll Lloyd, 47, the son of a Shadyside doctor, was arrested at his Follansbee, W.Va., home Thursday on federal charges of obstruction...
Domestic violence charges withdrawn against DA Zappala’s son
State prosecutors Thursday morning withdrew domestic violence charges against the son of Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr., court records show. Ohio Township police charged Stephen John Zappala, 31, of Ben Avon Heights, with simple assault and harassment on July 23, court records show. He was arraigned and...
Former Pittsburgh animal control officer revives lawsuit over cruelty charges
A former Pittsburgh animal control officer is fighting back against animal cruelty claims he said cost him his job and his reputation. James Genco III, 48, of Pittsburgh, filed an amended lawsuit this week in federal court against three people whose comments led to animal cruelty charges being filed against...
Wooden boxes stocked with food, supplies placed in Wilkinsburg to aid underserved residents
A wooden box stands at the corner of Wilkinsburg’s Laketon Road and Douglas Drive. Behind a purple door adorned with the expression “Explore your full potential” are shelves stocked with everything from nonperishables such as boxed macaroni and cheese, long-grain rice and canned corn to jars of baby food, socks...
Jewish youth athletes from Pittsburgh competing in Olympic-style event in Florida
Sylvie Bails will enter her freshman year this fall at Taylor Allderdice High School in her native Squirrel Hill. But the 14-year-old athlete already has her eyes set further on the horizon. “I would love to play college soccer — that’s definitely a goal,” said Sylvie, who has played soccer...
Half a year after derailment, East Palestine’s fight to recover continues
EAST PALESTINE, Ohio — Kat Smith has seen her share of ups and downs this year. In February, days after a Norfolk Southern train derailed in East Palestine and a controlled chemical burn spewed plumes of smoke into the sky, doctors diagnosed Smith with bronchitis because of toxin exposure. When...
Former Pittsburgh police chief dead at 81
Former Pittsburgh police Chief Earl Buford Jr. has died. Buford, who led the city force from 1992 to 1995 and was just the second minority to hold the top post, died July 25, according to police spokeswoman Cara Cruz said Monday. Buford was 81. Born on April 9, 1942, in...
Squirrel Hill holds complicated feelings about death penalty for synagogue shooter
Many in Squirrel Hill hate Pittsburgh synagogue shooter Robert Bowers. But their feelings about how to punish him as his federal trial nears a conclusion are as unique as the individuals themselves. Lori Kline grew up in this tree-shaded East End neighborhood, where roughly half the residents are Jewish and...
Dormont home health aide sexually assaulted Pittsburgh woman with physical disabilities, police say
A Pittsburgh woman with physical disabilities was sexually assaulted by her aide, according to city police. Police have charged the aide, Vanessa C. Callender, 30, of Dormont, with one felony count of institutional sexual assault, court records show. Callender was arraigned Friday and District Judge Anthony M. Ceoffe set her...
Police crackdown in Downtown Pittsburgh results in more arrests for drugs, prostitution
To passersby, it might have appeared innocent — just a group of Pittsburghers smoking Downtown. But Pittsburgh police suspected otherwise. Myriah Morris, a 22-year-old Penn Hills woman with dyed-blue hair, was sitting with several people on a Mellon Square Park wall Saturday night. Though she didn’t smoke, she kept taking...
GOP Allegheny County Executive candidate Joe Rockey picks up law enforcement endorsements
Allegheny County Executive candidate Joe Rockey said Thursday that, if elected, he would boost the number of county police, reopen a county juvenile detention center, and provide more oversight of the county jail. Rockey, a Republican from Ohio Township, laid out those and other plans to address what he called...
